Method and System for Duplicate Check Detection

ABSTRACT

A system and method for detecting duplicate checks during processing. The duplicate detection may be performed by a financial institution, such as a bank. The method may be implemented on a computer based system. The duplicate detection method may be automated. The method may be applied to incoming check files prior to processing of the check data to prevent processing of duplicate checks. The system and method may use a function, such as a hash function, to perform the duplicate detection. Other functions, such as a Bloom filter which may use multiple hash functions, may be used to perform the duplicate detection.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the inventions relate generally to check processing by a financial institution. More specifically, the invention is directed to a method and system for detecting duplicate checks by a financial institution or other entity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions, process checks. Larger financial institutions may process a significant volume of checks. Typically, since the Check 21 Act in 2003, most checks are routed and processed electronically as image files. A check may exist as an original, an image replacement document (IRD), and/or as an image item. An IRD is a paper document which contains an image of the check with additional information such as a new Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) line and endorsement information. Such check images presently conform with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) X9.37 standard which is a standard format used in the banking industry which uses compressed Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) based images, typically using G4 image coding (e.g., a lossless, bitonal compression methodology) as the standard format. It should be appreciated that other such image standards may be used. Checks can be converted from paper to an image to an IRD.

It is possible, given this type of processing, for multiple instances of the same check to occur. In other words, duplicate copies of an imaged check may exist. Duplicate checks may also exist, for example, because of fraud, data processing errors, and printing errors.

If duplicate instances of a check exist, the financial institution may process and post each of the multiple instances. This may mean that the same check may be paid out more than once. Such multiple payments can lead to accounting issues, service problems, customer dissatisfaction, and losses due to fraud. For example, on-us checks (e.g., an on-us check is a check that is written against an account at the bank that holds the account) can be posted twice to the same account. Transit checks, written against an account at another financial institution (e.g., a bank that is different than the bank where the check is presented to) and received from a depositor or correspondent bank, may be presented twice to the paying financial institution for collection. Such double payments or postings can lead to accounting problems and may be indicative of fraud.

It should be appreciated that duplicate checks may be legitimate duplicates. Checks presented for return, re-presentment, or re-deposit are examples of such cases. Further, some check writers may create legitimate duplicates by not using unique serial numbers per account. For example, rebate checks may use the same serial number on a plurality of checks. Other such instances may exist.

Financial institutions may employ various methods for detection of such duplicate checks, typically known as duplicate detection methods. These existing methods may suffer from various drawbacks. For example, some current methods for duplicate detection may be performed manually. Such manual detection may include an operator comparing current checks against an historical database. This type of comparison may be time consuming and expensive. Further, operators may make errors and miss duplicate checks.

Duplicate detection may be performed automatically by a computer system. Typically, such automatic detection occurs during check processing. However, such detection, while automated, usually occurs late in the processing cycle (e.g., prior to posting). This means that resources are expending on processing a potential duplicate check and the duplicate detection is performed just prior to the last part of the processing. Such a method potentially consumes time and computer resources. Also, duplicate detection may not be performed on every type of check, such as transit checks sent for collection to other financial institutions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-implemented method for detecting duplicate checks, for example duplicate paper and/or imaged checks. Check data may be received wherein the check data may be check accounting data associated with one or more checks. One or more components may be extracted from the check accounting data for each individual check. A string of characters based on the one or more extracted components may be created. A function may be applied to the check data and/or the string wherein the function may compute a value based on the check data and/or the string. An element may be selected from a set where an index of the element corresponds to the computed value. The check may be determined to be a suspected duplicate if the element is in an altered state, such as a first value. A determination that the check may not be a duplicate may be made if the element is in an initialized state, such as an initial value. The element may be modified for processing of further checks by altering a state of the element.

The comparison may be performed by creating a hash value from the check data string based on the one or more components using a hash function. The hash value may be used to calculate a bit and byte address of a single bit entry in a hash table. The value of the bit so addressed in the hash table may be read. If the bit is equal to a first value, an identification or flag may be attached to the check data string identifying the string as a suspected duplicate. If the bit is equal to the initial value, a different identification or flag may be attached to the hash string identifying the check data string as one that has never been processed during the period that the table has been in use. Finally, the bit addressed in the hash table may then be set to the first value to signify to further processing that a check with a string hashing to that address has already been processed. According to an exemplary embodiment, so long as the bits in the table may be initialized to the initial value, and so long as the ratio of bits in the table is a multiple of the checks to be processed, the probability that a check will be called a suspect duplicate falsely may be one over the multiple. In this example, false negatives may be minimized. To decrease the false suspect rate for a given table size, or to minimize table size for a given number of checks, the hash table may use a Bloom filter. The Bloom filter may use at least two hash functions.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-implemented system for detecting duplicate check images. The system may be implemented on a processing machine, such as a general purpose computer. The computer may be stand-alone or it may be networked. The system may have at least one processor, a check file receipt module configured to receive check data wherein the check data comprises the check data of one or more checks wherein the check data comprises at least check accounting data associated with the one or more checks, an accounting data extraction module configured to extract one or more components from the check accounting data for each individual check, a character string creation module configured to create a string based on the one or more components, a function module configured to determine if the string is unique by comparing the string to each other string from the one or more checks by applying a function to the string, an output module configured to output, based on results from the function module, a listing of suspected duplicates, a user interface module configured to allow a user to interact with the system, and a storage module connected to the system and configured to store data associated with the system. Other such modules are possible as is known in the art.

Advantages of this invention in addition to those described above are apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method of duplicate check detection in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method of duplicate detection using a hash function for duplicate check detection in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a system for duplicate detection in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary method for implementation of a duplication detection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary method of using a Bloom filter for duplication detection in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

These and other embodiments and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the various exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the embodiments of the inventions are susceptible to broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the embodiments of the inventions other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the embodiments of the inventions and foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the invention.

A check can exist as the original, as an IRD and as an image item. As such, multiple instances of the IRD, subsequent IRD, and image items can occur. An embodiment of the present invention is directed to detecting improper multiple instances of a check. For example, an embodiment of the present invention may ensure that on-us checks are not posted more than once and transit checks are not presented more than once to another financial institution for collection. An embodiment of the present invention also recognizes that the same item may be legitimately processed multiple times for valid reasons, such as return, re-presentment or re-deposit. In addition, some check writers may create legitimate duplicates.

An embodiment of the present invention may implement a hash routine to automate the processing of detecting duplicates. Other routines may be used as well. For example, a hash table may be used for screening the checks. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a single bit hash table may be used. For each new check, the system may concatenate the auxiliary on-us, routing/transit (RT), on-us, and amount data fields encoded at the bottom of a check into a normalized string. These fields may be extracted from the MICR data associated with the check. The resulting string may then be hashed to a bit-address in a range about 100 times, for example, the expected volume of checks. According to one exemplary embodiment, if the bit in the table at that address is an initialized or initial value (e.g., 0), the item may not have been seen before. If the bit in the table at that address is an altered or first value (e.g., 1), the item may have been seen before, so a query to a database of already processed checks may be performed to determine whether the present check is a duplicate of one already received before insertion of the new check. The initial bit value may then be set to the first value (e.g., 1) so if the bit address arises again, then it is known to have been possibly seen before. The query of the database of already received checks may be omitted before the insertion of the present check. With a bit address range 100 times the number of checks being processed, the query may be omitted for more than 99% of the checks. Omitting the query of the database before insert may result in a substantial savings in computing resources. Any hash that results in a uniform distribution of the mapping of items into the address space can be used. Preferably, a single bit hash function may be used for speed and economy of computing resources. Filters, such as Bloom filters, may be implemented with multiple hash functions. For example, 4 single bit hash functions may be incorporated into the Bloom filter. Each single bit from each hash function may equal a first value to designate the check as a suspected duplicate. An important advantage may be that the hash table may be small enough to fit into RAM on the servers, and therefore efficient duplicate detection may be performed using the memory of the server, even with processing tens of millions of checks. This may obviate the need to access databases or files on disk, which may be slow and expensive. Duplicate detection may be performed between paper and image checks. Duplicate detection may further be performed between checks and Account Clearing House (ACH) transactions that were originally in the form of checks, but converted to ACH at a point of sale, a back office conversion, or an accounts receivable conversion.

A need exists to efficiently detect duplicate checks early in the processing cycle using a single detection process. Such duplicate detection can ensure that checks are not posted twice to an account or presented twice to another financial institution for collection. Furthermore, the method of duplicate detection needs to be efficiently scaleable to volumes of a few tens of millions of checks per day without requiring a massive investment in database software, disk storage hardware and processors to support a large number of database searches per second.

An embodiment of the present invention is directed to duplicate check resolution. Many suspect checks may be resolved (e.g., determined if they are suspect) by querying a database using a query on the combination of certain check accounting data fields, such as those found in the MICR data or other such similar data. For example, the aux on-us, RT, on-us, amount, and other fields may be used. If the MICR or other such similar data is identical or substantially similar, the system may then (1) determine whether the check has been returned and is being re-deposited or re-presented; (2) compare the check with controlled disbursement RT checks (and accounts); and/or (3) compare the check with a table of RT/on-us field values that are known to be legitimate duplicates. If the suspect check is not resolved by the automated process, a case for manual resolution may be created in remediation workflow. Other resolutions for suspect checks may be implemented.

Accordingly, while the embodiments of the inventions have been described here in detail in relation to its exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the embodiments of the inventions and is made to provide an enabling disclosure of the invention. Accordingly, the subsequent disclosure is not intended to be construed or to limit the embodiments of the inventions or otherwise to exclude any other such embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements. While the various embodiments of the present inventions are described in the context of check processing, the duplicate detection methods described herein may be applied to other items, such as documents, to perform duplicate detection.

FIG. 1 depicts a flow chart of a method of duplicate check detection of an exemplary embodiment. Exemplary method 100 is provided by way of example, as there are a variety of ways to carry out the methods disclosed herein. The method 100 as shown in FIG. 1 may be executed or otherwise performed by one or a combination of various systems, such as a computer implemented system. Each block shown in FIG. 1 represents one or more processes, methods, and/or subroutines carried out in the exemplary method 100. Each block may have an associated processing machine or the blocks depicted may be carried out through one processor machine. Input may be desired from a user during various parts of the below described method, the input may be accomplished through a user interface. Referring to FIG. 1, the exemplary method 100 may begin at block 110. At block 110, a check file, containing check accounting data, may be received. At block 115, elements of the check accounting data may be extracted and normalized. At block 120, a string of characters may be created. At block 125, a function may be applied to the string. At block 130, suspected duplicates may be identified. At block 135, the suspected duplicates may be reviewed. These steps will be described in greater detail below.

While the method of FIG. 1 illustrates certain steps performed in a particular order, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention may be practiced by adding one or more steps to the processes, omitting steps within the processes and/or altering the order in which one or more steps are performed.

At block 110, a check file may be received by a financial institution or other entity. The financial institution may be a bank, credit union, or other such related entity. The check file may include accounting data and, optionally, images of more than one check. The checks may be in a standard format wherein the standard format is used by the other institutions to facilitate and standardize the exchange of data and images. For example, an image format, such as X9.37 may be used. The X9.37 image file is a current standard format which uses TIFF based images of the checks along with their associated data. It should be appreciated that other formats and/or combinations of formats may be used.

The check file may be received by the financial institution through a processing system. Various processing systems may be used. The check file may contain information pertaining to one or more checks. Such information may include check accounting data and/or other data. Check accounting data may be contained in magnetic ink printing, such as MICR. In the exemplary X9.37 format, this data may be contained in the Type 25 record as aux on-us, RT, on-us, and amount data fields. It should be appreciated that other such formats may be used for check accounting data.

At block 115, elements of the check accounting data may be extracted and normalized. For example, certain elements of the MICR data may be extracted. According to an exemplary embodiment, elements to extract may be chosen because they may represent unique information to that particular check. For example, fields representing the aux on-us code, the routing and transit number, on-us code, and amount of the check (e.g., fields 2, 4, 6, and 7 of the Type 25 record) may be extracted from the MICR data. These fields may be used because they are part of the MICR and represent fields within the MICR standard that typically vary from check to check. It should be appreciated that other fields and/or combinations of fields may be used. In an exemplary embodiment, non-numeric characters, such as letters and symbols, may be eliminated from the string to normalize it. It should be appreciated that the normalization of data elements may be extended to allow detection of duplicates between paper checks, imaged checks, IRDs, checks converted to ACH transactions, and other payment instruments.

At block 120, a string of characters may be created in a form which standardizes the data and removes variations due to differences in the prior capture and data processing systems in order to allow a valid comparison among checks received from different sources. For example, the string of characters may be created at least in part from the elements extracted in block 115. Because the string of characters may be normalized according to an exemplary embodiment, the string created may be numeric in content. The string may then be created by concatenating the extracted fields. Such a string may have a resulting length, such as length L. For example, selected record fields may be extracted from the MICR data, as discussed above, any non-numeric characters may be squeezed out, and then any remaining numeric characters may be combined into a string which may have a length L. It should be appreciated that other strings or combination of data fields may be created.

At block 125, a function may be applied to the string from block 120. The function may be any suitable function to reduce the string to one of a set elements, e.g., a set of ordered values which may be used as an index to a set of Boolean objects. The function may be a mathematical function that converts the data, such as the string of characters, into an integer, such as a uniformly distributed pseudorandom integer, which may serve as an index into an array, such as an array of bits. According to certain applications, a hash table including individually addressed bits may be preferred based upon its small size (relative to computer memory requirements) and ability to provide fast and efficient screening of data. If such a table is initially filled with a value in an initialized state, or initial value, such as “0”, and the bits are set to an altered state, such as a first value, e.g. “1”, when addressed, a new check can be determined to not be a suspect duplicate if the bit addressed was not equal to the first value, since no check that is hashed to that address has been previously processed. In an exemplary embodiment, a single bit hash table may be used. For example, the single bit may be a first value, such as “1”, and the initial value, such as “0”. Use of a single bit hash table may mean the table may be of a small, efficient size to allow use in the memory of a server without the need to use disk space or perform look-ups in a database table.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a filter, such as a Bloom filter may be used. A Bloom filter is a data structure that may be used to test for membership of elements in a particular group. A Bloom filter may generate false positives and not false negatives. The accuracy of the Bloom filter may be improved by using multiple functions, such as hash functions. The Bloom filter may provide a smaller table size. As a result, the table of values takes up less computer memory space. The use of a Bloom filter may significantly increase the accuracy of the function for identifying suspected duplicates. For example, a Bloom filter using two or more hash functions may be used. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a Bloom filter using four hash functions resulting in four single bit hash tables may be used.

At block 130, suspected duplicates may be identified. For example, the suspected duplicates may be identified based on a comparison of the dataset obtained by applying a function, such as the hash function, in block 125. If two datasets have matching characters or are considered substantially similar, then the two checks that the data was extracted from may be considered duplicates. Such suspected duplicates may be flagged for further review. The dataset may be compared against a dataset which may include other check data from a pre-determined time period. A pre-determined time period may be selected to allow a comparison with historical data wherein a duplicate of a particular check may be reasonably found. For example, a previous number weeks, such as the previous four weeks, of processed checks may be used. Other time periods of data may be used.

In one embodiment, an element may be selected from a set where an index of the element may correspond to the computed value from the function applied in block 125, such as a hash function. The set may be an array. The check may be determined to not be a duplicate if the element is in an initialized state, such as “0”. The check may be determined to be a suspected duplicate if the element is in an altered state, such as “1”. Following the determination, if the element was in the initialized state, the state of the element may be modified such that it may be in the altered state.

At block 135, the suspected duplicates may be reviewed. Such a review may be performed as an additional check to confirm that the checks are indeed duplicates. This review may also identify false-positives. It should be appreciated that suspected duplicates identified by the function in block 120 may be a random collision of values. A random collision of values may occur if the string and another string happen to result in the same hash value, but in reality are not duplicates. In an exemplary embodiment, the review of the suspected duplicates may be manually conducted by an operator. The operator may compare the suspected duplicates against a historical database of checks processed within a pre-determined period of time. For example, the suspected duplicates may be compared against checks processed within the last year or other predetermined time periods. In some embodiments, the review may also be automated with minimal or no operator intervention.

FIG. 2 depicts a flow chart of a method using a hash function for duplicate check detection in an exemplary embodiment. Exemplary method 200 is provided by way of example, as there are a variety of ways to carry out the methods disclosed herein. The method 200 as shown in FIG. 2 may be executed or otherwise performed by one or a combination of various systems, such as a computer implemented system. Each block shown in FIG. 2 represents one or more processes, methods, and/or subroutines carried out in the exemplary method 200. Each block may have an associated processing machine or the blocks depicted may be carried out through one processor machine. Input may be desired from a user during various parts of the below described method, the input may be accomplished through a user interface. Referring to FIG. 2, the exemplary method 200 may begin at block 210. At block 210, check data may be normalized. At block 215, a byte and bit address may be computed. At block 220, a bit may be read from the hash table At block 225, a check may be performed to determine if the bit value equals a first value. At block 230, the bit may be set to the first value in the hash table. At block 235, the original bit value is returned. These steps will be described in greater detail below.

While the method of FIG. 2 illustrates certain steps performed in a particular order, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention may be practiced by adding one or more steps to the processes, omitting steps within the processes and/or altering the order in which one or more steps are performed.

At block 210, check data may be normalized. The normalization of the check data may include extraction of certain check accounting data, creating a string of characters from the extracted data, and normalizing the string through the use of a suitable function. The first step in normalization may involve extracting elements of the check accounting data. Certain fields may be extracted from the MICR data on the bottom of a check or from the type 25 record in the X9.37 check image file. For example, certain elements of the MICR data may be extracted. According to an exemplary embodiment, these certain elements to extract may be chosen since they may represent unique information to that particular check because they represent fields within the MICR standard that typically vary from check to check. For example, fields representing the aux on-us code, the routing and transit number, on-us code, and amount of the check (e.g., field 2, 4, 6, and 7 of the X9.37 Type 25 record) may be extracted from the MICR data. It should be appreciated that other fields and/or combinations of fields may be used.

Next, a string of characters may be created from the extracted MICR data. In an exemplary embodiment, non-numeric characters, such as letters and symbols, may be eliminated from the string. Therefore, according to an exemplary embodiment, the string created may be numeric in content. The string may then be created by concatenating the extracted fields. Such a string may have a resulting length, such as length L. For example, selected record fields may be extracted from the MICR data, as discussed above, any non-numeric characters may be squeezed out, and then remaining numeric characters may be combined into a string which has a length L. It should be appreciated that other strings or combination of data fields may be created.

Then, a function may be applied to the string to normalize it into a suitable format for indexing, sorting, and/or comparing to other such strings in an efficient manner. The function may be any suitable function to reduce the string to one of a set of ordered values which may be used as an index to a set of Boolean objects. Such a function may be a mathematical function that converts the data, such as the string of characters, into an integer, such as a uniformly distributed pseudorandom integer, which may serve as an index into an array, such as an array of bits. According to certain applications, a hash table including individually addressed bits may be preferred based upon its small size (relative to computer memory requirements) and ability to provide fast and efficient screening of data. If such a table is initially filled with a initial value, such as “0”, and the bits are set to an altered, or first value, such as “1”, when addressed, a new check can be determined to not be a suspect duplicate if the bit addressed was not equal to the first value, since no check that is hashed to that address has been previously processed. In an exemplary embodiment, a single bit hash table may be used. For example, the single bit may be a first value, such as “1”, and the initial value, such as “0”. Use of a single bit hash table may mean the table may be of a small, efficient size to allow use in the memory of a server without the need to use disk space or perform look-ups in a database table.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a filter, such as a Bloom filter may be used. A Bloom filter is a data structure that may be used to test for membership of elements in a particular group. A Bloom filter may generate false positives and not false negatives. The accuracy of the Bloom filter may be improved by using multiple functions, such as hash functions. The Bloom filter may provide a smaller table size. As a result, the table of values takes up less computer memory space. The use of a Bloom filter may significantly increase the accuracy of the function for identifying suspected duplicates. For example, a Bloom filter using two or more hash functions may be used. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a Bloom filter using four hash functions resulting in four single bit hash value addresses may be used. In this exemplary embodiment, in order to qualify as a suspected duplicate, the four bits addressed by the hash values should be equal to the altered or first value. In alternative embodiments, other bit size hash functions may be used and divided up into a number of smaller size function. For example, a 128-bit hash function may divided up into four 32-bit functions.

In an exemplary embodiment, the following hash function may be used. It should be appreciated that the following is a mere example and should not be construed to limit the various embodiments of the present invention in any manner. The following is purely illustrative. In this example, L is equal to the string length. The result of the hash function is a hash value which is entered in a hash table. In the following example, showing the Jenkins One-at-a-Time hash algorithm, a 64-bit hash value is used. Other algorithms and bit sizes may be used as are known in the art. For example, a 128-bit MD5 algorithm may be used.

for (i = 0; i < L; i++) {   hash += MICR[i];   hash += (hash << 10);   hash {circumflex over ( )}= (hash >> 6);   }  hash += (hash << 3);  hash {circumflex over ( )}= (hash >> 11);  hash += (hash << 15);  return hash.

At block 215, the byte and bit address may be computed. The bit address may be of the hash value calculated above. In some embodiments, another bit address may be used. This bit address may be 3-bit address of the bit within a byte. The following is an example calculation of the bit address:

-   -   bitaddress=hash & 0x7.         Other bit addresses may be used.

The byte address may vary depending upon the hash table size. For example, a 4 Gigabyte table will have a 32-bit address. The following is an example of calculation of the byte address:

-   -   byteaddress=(hash>>3) & 0xFFFFFFFF.         Other byte addresses may be used. In general, for a table of N         bytes, byteaddress=(hash>>3) % N, where % is the modulo operator         that returns the remainder of division by N.

At block 220, the bit may be read from the hash table. The bit may be read from the hash table to determine if it is unique. For example, if the bit equals to a first value, such as 1, then it may be a suspected duplicate. If the bit equals a second value, such as 0, then it may not be a duplicate. It should be appreciated that other such bit combinations may be used based on the structure of the hash table. An example of an expression which reads a single bit from the hash table is:

-   -   bit=(table[byteaddress]>>bitaddress) & 1.         Other bit functions may be used.

At block 225, a check may be made whether the bit is equal to a first value, such as 1. The suspected duplicates may be those with a bit value that the first value.

At block 230, the bit may be set to the first value in hash table. This may be performed if the bit does not equal the first value (e.g., it is equal to a second value, such as 0). The bit may be set for a future comparison and to mark the bit as being used. For example, by marking the bit with a first value allows for a comparison with another batch of check data such that another computed bit with the same address will then show up as a suspected duplicate. An example of an expression for setting a bit in the hash table is:

-   -   table[byteaddress]|=1<<bitaddress.         Other functions may be used.

At block 235, the original bit value may be returned. If the bit was equal to the first value in block 225, then the method may proceed to this step. The original bit value may be returned to identify the suspected duplicate checks for further analysis. If the bit value was equal to the first value, then the check may be considered a suspected duplicate.

FIG. 3 is a duplicate detection system, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. System 300 may provide various functionality and features associated with duplicate detection. More specifically, system 300 may include a check file receipt module 304, a processor 306, an accounting data extraction module 308, a character string creation module 310, a function module 312, an output module 314, a user interface module 316, and a storage module 318. While a single illustrative block, module or component is shown, these illustrative blocks, modules or components may be multiplied for various applications or different application environments. In addition, the modules or components may be further combined into a consolidated unit. The modules and/or components may be further duplicated, combined and/or separated across multiple systems at local and/or remote locations. For example, some of the modules or functionality associated with the modules may be supported by a separate application or platform. Other implementations and architectures may be realized. It should be appreciated that system 300 may be a computer, such as a general purpose computer which may include a processing machine which has one or more processors. Such a processing machine may execute instruction stored in a memory or memory to process the data.

As noted above, the processing machine executes the instructions that are stored in the memory or memories to process data. This processing of data may be in response to commands by a user or users of the processing machine, in response to previous processing, in response to a request by another processing machine and/or any other input, for example. As described herein, a module performing functionality may comprise a processor and vice-versa.

A check file 302 may be input into the system 300. The check file may be received by a financial institution. The system 300 may represent a financial institution, such as a bank, credit union, or other such related entity. In addition, the system 300 may be a third party of other intermediary entity in communication with a financial institution. In some embodiments, the system 300 may represent a financial processing system located at a financial institution. Other architectures and schemes may be realized. The check file may include data corresponding to more than one check. The check file may contain images of checks. The images may be in a standard format wherein the standard format is used by the other institutions to facilitate and standardize the exchange of data. For example, a image format, such as X9.37, may be used. The X9.37 image file is a format which uses TIFF based images of the checks along with their associated data. It should be appreciated that other formats may be used for the check file.

The check file may be received by the financial institution by a processing system. Various types of processing systems may be used. The check file may contain various information pertaining to one or more checks. Such information may include check accounting data. Check accounting data may be contained in the form of Magnetic Ink Printing, such as MICR. For example, in the exemplary X9.37 format, this data may be contained in the Type 25 record. The check file may contain various types of checks, such as aux on-us, on-us, and routing and transit. Other types of checks are possible. The check accounting data may include aux on-us, RT, on-us, and amount fields from the check MICR printing. Other types of check accounting data may be possible.

An check file receipt module 304 may receive the check file 302. Check file receipt module 304 may be an input or routing point in the system 300. For example, check receipt module 304 may be a router such that the check file 302 is received and then sent to the proper module, such as the accounting data extraction module 308, or other module for further processing. The image receipt module 304 may store the check file 302. For example, the check file 302 may be stored in check file receipt module 304 while awaiting further processing, the receipt of other check files, and/or other actions or events. Check file receipt module 304 may process the check file 302. For example, check file receipt module 304 may combine two or more check files into one check file for further processing in the system 300. The check file receipt module 304 may review the check file 302 to ensure it is in the proper format for further processing in system 300. The check file receipt module 304 may convert the check file 302 into a proper format as preferred. In some embodiments, the check file receipt module 304 may create an alert that may involve user intervention in the event the check file 302 is not in the proper format for processing, contains an error, or for other reasons. In some embodiments, storage 318 may be used to store the check file 302. It should be appreciated that the check file receipt module 304 may make a back-up copy of the check file 302 prior to any further routing or processing of the check file. For example, such a back-up copy may serve as an archive copy of the check file 302. Other uses are possible. The back-up copy may be stored in storage 318 or other such associated storage.

A processor 306 may be used for processing, calculating, and/or organizing the data. Other functions may be performed by the processor as desired. One or more processors may be provided. The processor 306 is shown as a separate module in FIG. 3, however in some embodiments, the processor 306 may be a distributed processor, such that the processor 306 may be distributed among the various modules shown in FIG. 3. In other embodiments, the processor 300 may be shared with other functionality within other modules (not shown) that may be present in the system 300.

An accounting data extraction module 308 may extract certain elements of the check accounting data. For example, certain elements of the MICR data associated with a check may be extracted. The accounting data may be extracted from the check file 302. The accounting data may be extracted for each check contained in the check file 302. According to an exemplary embodiment, certain elements to extract may be chosen because they may represent unique information to that particular check. For example, fields representing the aux on-us code, the routing and transit number, on-us code, and amount of the check (e.g., field 2, 4, 6, and 7) may be extracted from the MICR data. It should be appreciated that other fields and/or combinations of fields may be used.

A character string creation module 310 may create a string of characters based at least in part on the accounting data extracted by the accounting data extraction module 308. For example, the string of characters may be created from a subset of the elements extracted. In an exemplary embodiment, non-numeric characters, such as letters and symbols, may be eliminated from the string. Other types of filtering may be applied. Therefore, according to an exemplary embodiment, the string created may be numeric in content. The string may then be created by concatenating the extracted fields. The concatenated string may have a length, such as length L. For example, selected record fields may be extracted from the MICR data, as discussed above, any non-numeric characters may be squeezed out, and then remaining numeric characters may combined into a string which may have a length L. It should be appreciated that other strings and/or combination of data fields may be created.

A function module 312 may apply a function to the character string created by the character string creation module 310. A function may be applied to the string to normalize it into a suitable format for indexing, sorting, and/or comparing to other such strings in an efficient manner. The function may be any suitable function to reduce the string to one of a set of ordered values which may be used as an index to a set of Boolean objects. Such a function may be a mathematical function that converts the data, such as the string of characters, into an integer, such as a uniformly distributed pseudorandom integer, which may serve as an index into an array of bits. According to certain applications, a hash table including individually addressed bits may be preferred based upon its small size (relative to computer memory requirements) and ability to provide fast and efficient screening of data. If such a table is initially filled with a initial value, such as “0”, and the bits are set to an altered, or first value, such as “1”, when addressed, a new check can be determined to not be a suspect duplicate if the bit addressed was not equal to the first value, since no check that is hashed to that address has been previously processed. In an exemplary embodiment, a single bit hash table may be used. For example, the single bit may be a first value, such as “1”, and the initial value, such as “0”. Use of a single bit hash table may mean the table may be of a small, efficient size to allow use in the memory of a server without the need to use disk space or perform look-ups in a database table.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a filter, such as a Bloom filter may be used. A Bloom filter is a data structure that may be used to test for membership of elements in a particular group. A Bloom filter may generate false positives and not false negatives. The accuracy of the Bloom filter may be improved by using multiple functions, such as hash functions. The Bloom filter may provide a smaller table size. As a result, the table of values takes up less computer memory space. The use of a Bloom filter may significantly increase the accuracy of the function for identifying suspected duplicates. For example, a Bloom filter using two or more hash functions may be used. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a Bloom filter using four hash functions resulting in four single bit hash address values may be used. In this exemplary embodiment, in order to qualify as a suspected duplicate, the four bits addressed by the hash values should be equal to the first value. In alternative embodiments, other bit size hash functions may be used and divided up into a number of smaller size function. For example, a 128-bit hash function may divided up into four 32-bit functions.

It should be appreciated that the function module 312 may use the method described above in FIG. 2. Other such methods may be used to perform the duplicate detection of the embodiments of the present invention.

An output module 314 may output the suspected duplicates identified as a result of the application of the function in the function module 312. The suspected duplicates may be identified based on a comparison of the dataset obtained by applying the function, such as the hash function, described above in the function module 312. For example, if two datasets have matching characters or are considered substantially similar, then the two checks that the data was extracted from may be considered suspected duplicates. Such suspected duplicates may be flagged for further review. The dataset may be compared against a dataset which may include other check data from a pre-determined time period. A pre-determined time period may be selected to allow a comparison with historical data wherein a duplicate of a particular check may be reasonably found. For example, a previous number weeks, such as the previous four weeks, of processed checks may be used. Other such time periods of data may be used. The output module may provide an output in various formats. An alert on a display (not shown) may be output. The alert may be visual in nature. Such a visual alert may be in any suitable format, such as graphics, text or a combination thereof. Audio alerts may be used. An audio alert may include a speaker capability to provide a way to output the sound associated with the audio alert. The output may be a printout, printed to a printer (not shown) attached to the output module 314. A combination of outputs may be used. The suspected duplicate listing may be stored in storage, such as storage 318.

A user interface 316 may allow a user to interact with the system 300. The user interface 316 may allow the user to review the output from the output module 314. The user interface module 316 may provide a suitable interface for the user, such as a graphical user interface (GUI). User input to the system 300 through the user interface module 316 may be completed through such input devices as a keyboard, a touch screen, a trackwheel, or any other input means, as is known in the art.

A storage module 318 may provide storage of data associated with system 300. The storage 318 may include any suitable storage device for the data from the system 300 and its associated modules. While a single storage module is shown for illustrative purposes, storage 318 may include multiple data storage devices at one or multiple locations. The one or more data storage devices may be operatively associated with individual modules in the system 300. Storage 318 may be local, remote, or a combination thereof with respect to the system 300. Storage 318 may utilize a redundant array of disks (RAID), striped disks, hot spare disks, tape, disk, or other computer accessible storage. In one or more embodiments, storage 318 may be a storage area network (SAN), an internet small computer systems interface (iSCSI) SAN, a Fibre Channel SAN, a common Internet File System (CIFS), network attached storage (NAS), or a network file system (NFS). The storage 318 may have back-up capability built-in. Communications with the system 300 may be over a network, such as a local area network or communications may be over a direct connection to the system 300. Data may be transmitted and/or received from the system 300. Data transmission and receipt may utilize cabled network or telecom connections such as an Ethernet RJ45/Category 5 Ethernet connection, a fiber connection, a traditional phone wireline connection, a cable connection or other wired network connection. A wireless network may be used for the transmission and receipt of data.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary method for implementation of a duplication detection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 depicts a flow chart of a method of duplicate check detection of an exemplary embodiment. Exemplary method 400 is provided by way of example, as there are a variety of ways to carry out the methods disclosed herein. The method 400 as shown in FIG. 4 may be executed or otherwise performed by one or a combination of various systems, such as a computer implemented system. Each block shown in FIG. 4 represents one or more processes, methods, and/or subroutines carried out in the exemplary method 400. Each block may have an associated processing machine or the blocks depicted may be carried out through one processor machine. Input may be desired from a user during various parts of the below described method, the input may be accomplished through a user interface.

Referring to FIG. 4, the exemplary method 400 may begin at block 402. A block 402, a check file may be received from a processing system. A block 404, the file may be validated and parsed. At block 406, a routing/transit and/or account exclusion table may be checked. At block 408, a determination may be made whether duplicate detection may be desired. At block 410, if duplicate detection should be performed, a hash table duplication screen may be performed. At block 412, a check may be identified as a duplicate suspect. At block 414, if the check image is not considered a duplicate suspect, then an item may be created in a database. At block 416, a database may be accessed. At block 418, a query may be performed for specific types of checks. At block 420, a determination may be made for a duplicate MICR. At block 422, an analysis may be performed of the duplicate MICR. At block 424, a determination is made of a mass duplicate. At block 426, the mass duplicate may be added to a duplicate work queue. At block 428, an analysis for allowable duplicates may be performed. At block 430, a determination may be made of an allowed duplicate. At block 432, the allowed duplicate may be logged for a fraud pattern review. At block 434, a manual exception work queue entry may be added. These steps will be described in greater detail below.

While the method of FIG. 4 illustrates certain steps performed in a particular order, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention may be practiced by adding one or more steps to the processes, omitting steps within the processes and/or altering the order in which one or more steps are performed.

At block 402, a check file may be received from a processing system. The processing system may be a Virtual Processing Center (VPC) Generation 2 processing system or other processing system for financial data, such as check data. It should be appreciated that other such systems may be used. The check file may be in a particular format, such as X9.37, as discussed above. It should be appreciated that other such check formats may be used. The X9.37 and VPC are used are illustrative examples to show the operation of an exemplary embodiment. The check file may contain the images of one or more checks and the check's associated accounting data. The check file may contain the check accounting data for one or more checks. Such check data may be processed by the financial institution. The check data may contain information pertaining to different check types such as on-us, aux on-us, routing/transit (RT), and amount. Other such check types may be possible as are known in the art. According to an exemplary application, the method depicted may be performed on each individual check contained in the check file. In another example, groups of checks may be processed. The method depicted in the following blocks may be performed following receipt of the check file by the financial institution. For example, the duplicate detection processing may occur following check receipt prior to any accounting processing or other such processing by the financial institution. This may be an advantage because duplicates may be detected and separated early in the processing chain.

At block 404, the check file may be validated, parsed, and/or otherwise processed. The check file may be processed to extract the check accounting data for the one or more checks in the check file. The accounting data may be extracted from the MICR data of each check. Specifically, certain fields from the accounting data may be extracted, such as the fields representing the aux on-us code, the routing and transit number, on-us code, and amount of the check (e.g., field 2, 4, 6, and 7 of the X9.37 Type 25 record) may be extracted from the MICR data. These extracted accounting fields may be validated. During validation, if errors are found in the check file, corrections may be performed automatically. In some embodiments, an operator may be alerted to the error and manual intervention may be performed to correct the error. In addition, a combination of automatic and manual error correction may be performed. Other variations may be realized. It should be appreciated that processing may be applied on the extracted accounting data to alter the format into an acceptable format for the processing system. For example, a foreign check may contain fields, such as the RT field, that are formatted in a different manner than those upon a United States check.

At block 406, a query may be performed of an exclusion table. Such a query may be performed to check if the duplicate detection should be performed for each check or group of checks contained in the image file. Some checks or groups of checks may be excluded from duplicate detection for various reasons as would be appreciated in the art. Such exclusions may save processing time and resources by preventing unnecessary processing, for example. Excluded items may include certain RT numbers, account numbers, or combinations thereof. For example, checks which lack serial number information, such as refund or rebate checks, may be excluded because these types of checks may be known to cause a high rate of suspected duplicates.

At block 408, a determination may be performed as to whether duplicate detection should be performed. Such a determination may depend, at least in part, on the results of block 406. Additionally, other such reasons may exist wherein a check may not be subject to the duplication detection method. If duplicate detection should be performed, then the method may proceed to block 410. If no duplicate detection is performed, then the method may proceed to block 414.

At block 410, a hash table duplicate screening may be performed. The hash table duplicate screening may be performed to identify suspected duplicates. Such a hash table duplicate screening is described in FIG. 2 above. It should be appreciated that other such methods for screening are possible, such as using a Bloom filter as described above and in FIG. 5.

At block 412, duplicate suspects may be identified. The duplicate suspects may be those checks whose hash values match that of at least one other check. The collision of the hash values may be indicative of a duplicate check since the hash value is computed from certain MICR fields which make up the accounting data associated with a particular check. It should be appreciated that there may be one or more duplicate suspects identified.

At block 414, an item may be created in an items database. The items database may contain information regarding the checks processed in the system. The information may have item information pertaining to a predetermined period of time. For example, the items database may contain information pertaining to the checks processed during a predetermined period of time by the financial institution. Block 414 may receive inputs from block 408, if no duplicate detection is performed. Block 414 may receive inputs from block 412. The input from block 412 may be the checks determined not to be duplicate suspects which may include the checks that passed the hash table screening since their values did not collide with any other values present in the hash table during the screening. It should be appreciated that checks that may be duplicate suspects may not be added to the items database at this stage. Block 414 may receive inputs from block 420 and 432 as will be described below.

Block 416 represents the items database, which may include any suitable data structure to maintain the information and allow access and retrieval of the information. For example, the database may keep the data in an organized fashion. The items database may be a database, such as an Oracle database, a Microsoft SQL Server database, a DB2 database, a MySQL database, a Sybase database, an object oriented database, a hierarchical database, a flat database, and/or another type of database as may be known in the art.

The items database may be stored in any suitable storage device. The storage may include one of more data storage devices. The one or more data storage devices may be operatively associated with the items database in block 416. The storage may be local, remote, or a combination thereof with respect to the database. The storage 416 may utilize a redundant array of disks (RAID), striped disks, hot spare disks, tape, disk, or other computer accessible storage. In one or more embodiments, the storage may be a storage area network (SAN), an internet small computer systems interface (iSCSI) SAN, a Fibre Channel SAN, a common Internet File System (CIFS), network attached storage (NAS), or a network file system (NFS). The database may have back-up capability built-in. Communications with the items database may be over a network, such as a local area network or communications may be over a direct connection to the database. Data may be transmitted and/or received from the items database. Data transmission and receipt may utilize cabled network or telecom connections such as an Ethernet RJ45/Category 5 Ethernet connection, a fiber connection, a traditional phone wireline connection, a cable connection or other wired network connection. A wireless network may be used for the transmission and receipt of data.

At block 418, a query by aux on-us, RT, on-us, or amount may be performed. The query may be performed on the one or more duplicate suspects. The query may be performed in the items database of block 416. This query may be automatically or manually performed. A combination of automatic and manual querying may be used. The query may be performed to validate the duplicate suspects identified in block 412, to ensure that the duplicate suspects are not a false positive. The query is performed in the items database to provide a validation of the duplicate suspect when compared against a larger subset of check data.

At block 420, a determination of duplicate data may be performed. The duplicate data may be MICR data. For example, from the query, it may be determined whether the duplicate suspect has MICR data that matches another check in the items database. If no duplicate MICR data is found, then the duplicate suspect may not be a duplicate. If so, then an entry into the items database may be performed at block 414 to provide an entry for potential future duplicate comparison. If duplicate MICR data is found in the items database, then the method continues to block 422.

At block 422, the duplicate MICR data may be analyzed. The analysis may be performed to determine if the check represents a duplicate file, cash letter, deposit, or other instrument. These types of files may be caused by operational or system errors. For example, another bank may send a cash letter with check data that is a duplicate of previously sent check data. This analysis may allow determination of a potential pattern regarding resubmission of check data. A common cause of duplicate checks may then be determined.

At block 424, a check for mass duplicates may be performed. The check for mass duplicates may be performed to identify a pattern of checks using the same data, such as the same serial number. For example, an entity, e.g., companies, financial institutions, etc., may issue checks with the same MICR information, such as the same serial number and amount. This may typically be seen in rebate checks. In other words, mass duplicates may have a cause that is different from the types identified in block 422.

At block 426, if a mass duplicate is found, an entry into the mass duplicate work queue may be made. This entry may alert the system to allow flagging of the mass duplicates in an appropriate manner for further processing. In some embodiments, this entry may add the identified mass duplicates into the exclusion table that may preclude duplicate processing of the identified mass duplicates, such as in block 406.

At block 428, an analysis may be performed for allowable duplicate cases. As discussed above, in some cases, there may be duplicate checks that are allowable. For example, a check may be returned to the depositor or bank of first deposit, and later re-deposited or re-presented.

At block 430, a decision if a duplicate is allowed may be performed. If the duplicate is allowed, then the method proceeds to block 432. If the duplicate is not allowed, then method continues to block 434.

At block 432, if the duplicate is allowed, a log entry for fraud pattern may be made. Such a log entry may be made for future use if the same check appears again. The log may be analyzed for patterns of duplicate checks which indicate possible fraud by statistical analysis, displaying the log for manual fraud review, or other actions. Further, following the log entry, an entry may be made into the items database for future comparison.

At block 434, if the duplicate is not allowed, a manual exception may be added to the work queue. The manual exception may be used to flag the duplicate. Such a flag may ensure that no further processing of the check occurs. The manual exception may be used to alert an operator to remove the accounting data associated with the duplicate from the X9.37 image file so that it is not processed. In some embodiments, this removal of the data may be performed automatically. The operator may review the duplicate suspect and decide whether to allow the check to be posted or cleared to the paying bank, to be returned to the depositor or bank of first deposit, to be removed from the transaction processing stream, or to be referred for fraud investigation. It is understood that the operator may perform other processing at this point. For example, the operator may enter account adjustments to fix the impact of the duplicate check.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary method for implementation of a duplication detection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart of a method of duplicate check detection using a Bloom filter of an exemplary embodiment. Exemplary method 500 is provided by way of example, as there are a variety of ways to carry out the methods disclosed herein. The method 500 as shown in FIG. 5 may be executed or otherwise performed by one or a combination of various systems, such as a computer implemented system. Each block shown in FIG. 5 represents one or more processes, methods, and/or subroutines carried out in the exemplary method 500. Each block may have an associated processing machine or the blocks depicted may be carried out through one processor machine. Input may be desired from a user during various parts of the below described method, the input may be accomplished through a user interface. Referring to FIG. 5, the exemplary method 500 may begin at block 510. At block 510, a Bloom filter service may be initiated At block 520, the Bloom filter service may be run. At block 530, the Bloom filter service may be shut down. These steps will be described in greater detail below.

While the method of FIG. 5 illustrates certain steps performed in a particular order, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention may be practiced by adding one or more steps to the processes, omitting steps within the processes and/or altering the order in which one or more steps are performed.

It should be appreciated that the Bloom filter service shown and depicted in FIG. 5 may be used in place of or in addition to the hash function shown in FIG. 2. The Bloom filter service may be used at block 410 in FIG. 4 in place or in addition to the hash table. While a Bloom filter is illustrated with respect to FIG. 5, other types of filters may be implemented as well.

At block 510, the Bloom filter service may be initiated. The last tables saved 512 may be read. If a recovery start, the Bloom filter's own hash journal 514 and other hash journal 516 may be read. For example, the journals 514 and 516 read may be the most recent journals since the last successful table save in order to update the Bloom filter tables to the point at which the service failed. The other hash journal 516 may be a hash journal data from other sites and/or locations running the duplicate detection method. The loading of the journal data allows the database to be recreated, updated, and synchronized with other databases in operation running the duplicate detection method. The recovery start may be performed following an abnormal shutdown of the Bloom filter service. Such a shutdown may be one where shutdown procedures were not followed or able to be followed so that the tables could be properly saved. An abnormal shutdown may mean that additional processing, such as creation of hash values, may have been performed after the Bloom filter service failed.

At block 520, the Bloom filter service may be executed. The Bloom filter service may read the hashes from other sites 522, and set the corresponding bits in the Bloom filter table so as to synchronize its table with those of the other sites. For example, the Bloom filter service may be executed at multiple sites on separate systems, such as separate VPC systems. The hashes from other sites 522 may allow multiple locations to each maintain a synchronized set of hash tables. The Bloom filter may then read the items in the request 524. The Bloom filter may compute a number of hashes and journal to other site 526, so that the other sites may similarly synchronize their tables. For example, four hashes per item may be computed. In other embodiments, a different number of hashes may be used. The bits in the table at the locations addressed by the hash values may be read. If the bits so read are not each equal to a first value (e.g., 1), the item may not be considered a duplicate suspect. In some embodiments, other combinations of first values may be used. Following reading the hashes, bits may be set at each of the hashes to indicate they have been read. The Bloom filter service may return a flag or other identification of suspect or not a suspect at 528. Such an output may be in the various forms as discussed above for FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4.

At block 530, the Bloom filter service may be shut down. The shut down may be performed after each input hash is checked for suspected duplicates or based on other conditions. The tables which have been updated in the foregoing sections may be saved as the last tables saved 532. The tables may be saved for a predetermined period of time. For example, a certain amount of data may be saved in storage for the Bloom filter to run the comparison's against. It should be appreciated that last tables saved 512 and last tables saved 532 may be the same table. For example, the tables saved may be sized to hold a week's checks. Multiple tables corresponding to different days or weeks, for example, may be checked so as to detect duplicates between current items and items processed during those previous periods. At the end of the day, or at the end of the week, the oldest table may be discarded and a new table started for the next day's or week's items. Other such table organizations and sizes are possible.

Hereinafter, aspects of implementation of the inventions will be described. As described above, the method of the invention may be computer implemented as a system. The system of the invention or portions of the system of the invention may be in the form of a “processing machine,” such as a general purpose computer, for example. As used herein, the term “processing machine” is to be understood to include at least one processor that uses at least one memory. The at least one memory stores a set of instructions. The instructions may be either permanently or temporarily stored in the memory or memories of the processing machine. The processor executes the instructions that are stored in the memory or memories in order to process data. The set of instructions may include various instructions that perform a particular task or tasks, such as those tasks described above in the flowcharts. Such a set of instructions for performing a particular task may be characterized as a program, software program, or simply software.

As noted above, the processing machine used to implement the invention may be a general purpose computer. However, the processing machine described above may also utilize any of a wide variety of other technologies including a special purpose computer, a computer system including a microcomputer, mini-computer or mainframe for example, a programmed microprocessor, a micro-controller, a peripheral integrated circuit element, a CSIC (Customer Specific Integrated Circuit) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or other integrated circuit, a logic circuit, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic device such as a FPGA, PLD, PLA or PAL, or any other device or arrangement of devices for example capable of implementing the steps of the process of the invention.

It is appreciated that in order to practice the method of the invention as described above, it is not necessary that the processors and/or the memories of the processing machine be physically located in the same geographical place. For example, each of the processors and the memories used in the invention may be located in geographically distinct locations and connected so as to communicate in any suitable manner. Additionally, it is appreciated that each of the processor and/or the memory may be composed of different physical pieces of equipment. Accordingly, it is not necessary that the processor be one single piece of equipment in one location and that the memory be another single piece of equipment in another location. For example, it is contemplated that the processor may be two pieces of equipment in two different physical locations. The two distinct pieces of equipment may be connected in any suitable manner. Additionally, the memory may include two or more portions of memory in two or more physical locations.

To explain further, processing as described above is performed by various components and various memories. However, it is appreciated that the processing performed by two distinct components as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single component. Further, the processing performed by one distinct component as described above may be performed by two distinct components. In a similar manner, the memory storage performed by two distinct memory portions as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single memory portion. Further, the memory storage performed by one distinct memory portion as described above may be performed by two memory portions.

Further, various technologies may be used to provide communication between the various processors and/or memories, as well as to allow the processors and/or the memories of the invention to communicate with any other entity; e.g., so as to obtain further instructions or to access and use remote memory stores, for example. Such technologies used to provide such communication might include a network, the Internet, Intranet, Extranet, LAN, an Ethernet, or any client server system that provides communication, for example. Such communications technologies may use any suitable protocol such as TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI, for example.

As described above, a set of instructions is used in the processing of the invention. The set of instructions may be in the form of a program or software. The software may be in the form of system software or application software, for example. The software might also be in the form of a collection of separate programs, a program module within a larger program, or a portion of a program module, for example. The software used might also include modular programming in the form of object oriented programming. The software tells the processing machine what to do with the data being processed.

Further, it is appreciated that the instructions or set of instructions used in the implementation and operation of the invention may be in a suitable form such that the processing machine may read the instructions. For example, the instructions that form a program may be in the form of a suitable programming language, which is converted to machine language or object code to allow the processor or processors to read the instructions. For example, written lines of programming code or source code, in a particular programming language, are converted to machine language using a compiler, assembler or interpreter. The machine language is binary coded machine instructions that are specific to a particular type of processing machine, e.g., to a particular type of computer, for example. The computer understands the machine language.

Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with the various embodiments of the invention. Illustratively, the programming language used may include assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++, C#, COBOL, dBase, Forth, Fortran, Java, Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX, Ruby, Visual Basic, and/or JavaScript, for example. Further, it is not necessary that a single type of instructions or single programming language be utilized in conjunction with the operation of the system and method of the invention. Rather, any number of different programming languages may be utilized as is necessary or desirable.

Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of the invention may utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as may be desired. An encryption module might be used to encrypt data. Further, files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module, for example.

As described above, the invention may illustratively be embodied in the form of a processing machine, including a computer or computer system, for example, that includes at least one memory. It is to be appreciated that the set of instructions, e.g., the software for example, that enables the computer operating system to perform the operations described above may be contained on any of a wide variety of media or medium, as desired. Further, the data for example processed by the set of instructions might also be contained on any of a wide variety of media or medium. For example, the particular medium, e.g., the memory in the processing machine, utilized to hold the set of instructions and/or the data used in the invention may take on any of a variety of physical forms or transmissions, for example. Illustratively, the medium may be in the form of paper, paper transparencies, a compact disk, a DVD, an integrated circuit, a hard disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, a RAM, a ROM, a PROM, a EPROM, a wire, a cable, a fiber, communications channel, a satellite transmissions or other remote transmission, as well as any other medium or source of data that may be read by the processors of the invention.

Further, the memory or memories used in the processing machine that implements the invention may be in any of a wide variety of forms to allow the memory to hold instructions, data, or other information, as is desired. Thus, the memory might be in the form of a database to hold data. The database might use any desired arrangement of files such as a flat file arrangement or a relational database arrangement, for example.

In the system and method of the invention, a variety of “user interfaces” may be utilized to allow a user to interface with the processing machine or machines that are used to implement the invention. As used herein, a user interface includes any hardware, software, or combination of hardware and software used by the processing machine that allows a user to interact with the processing machine. A user interface may be in the form of a dialogue screen for example. A user interface may also include any of a mouse, touch screen, keyboard, voice reader, voice recognizer, dialogue screen, menu box, list, checkbox, toggle switch, a pushbutton or any other device that allows a user to receive information regarding the operation of the processing machine as it processes a set of instructions and/or provide the processing machine with information. Accordingly, the user interface is any device that provides communication between a user and a processing machine. The information provided by the user to the processing machine through the user interface may be in the form of a command, a selection of data, or some other input, for example.

As discussed above, a user interface is utilized by the processing machine that performs a set of instructions such that the processing machine processes data for a user. The user interface is typically used by the processing machine for interacting with a user either to convey information or receive information from the user. However, it should be appreciated that in accordance with some embodiments of the system and method of the invention, it is not necessary that a human user actually interact with a user interface used by the processing machine of the invention. Rather, it is contemplated that the user interface of the invention might interact, e.g., convey and receive information, with another processing machine, rather than a human user. Accordingly, the other processing machine might be characterized as a user. Further, it is contemplated that a user interface utilized in the system and method of the invention may interact partially with another processing machine or processing machines, while also interacting partially with a human user.

While the embodiments have been particularly shown and described within the framework of duplicate check detection, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications may be effected by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that such processes and systems do not need to be restricted to the specific embodiments described herein. Other embodiments, uses and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. The specification and examples should be considered exemplary. The intended scope of the invention is limited by the claims appended hereto.

An embodiment of the invention relates to detecting a subsequent instance of a check and ensuring that the on-us checks are not posted twice to an account and that transit checks are not presented twice to another financial institution for collection. Such detection may aid in minimizing fraudulent or other improper posting or presentment of checks. 

1. A computer-implemented method for detecting duplicate check images, the method comprising the steps of: receiving check data wherein the check data comprises at least check accounting data associated with the one or more checks; applying a function to the check data wherein the function computes a value based on the check data; selecting an element from a set where an index of the element corresponds to the computed value; determining that a check is not a duplicate if the element is in an initialized state; determining that the check is a suspected duplicate if the element is in an altered state, and modifying the element by altering a state of the element.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set is an array.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the element of the set is a single bit.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of: reviewing the suspected duplicate to determine if it is a true duplicate.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of: queuing the true duplicate for fraud analysis.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of reviewing is performed by an operator.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein check data comprises an image in a format wherein the check accounting data can be extracted therefrom.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the check accounting data comprises MICR data.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination of the suspected duplicate is performed against check data for a predetermined time period.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the function comprises a hash function.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the hash function outputs a hash value and wherein the set comprises a single bit table wherein the altered state is equal to a first value and the initialized state is equal to an initial value.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first value is equal to 1 and the initial value is equal to
 0. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of applying and selecting further comprise: creating a hash value from the data using a hash function; and computing a single bit address in a hash table of the hash value wherein the index comprises an address of a single bit and wherein the table comprises the hash table.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of determining that the check is not a duplicate further comprises: reading a state of the addressed single bit from the hash table; and determining if the state of the single bit read is equal to the initialized state.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of modifying further comprises: setting the state of the addressed bit in the hash table to the altered state if the address of the single bit is not equal to the altered state.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of applying and selecting further comprises: creating two or more hash values from the data using at least two hash functions; selecting two or more elements from the set using two or more values as indices; and determining that the check is not a duplicate if one or more of the elements are in an initialized state.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of determining that the check is not a duplicate further comprises: reading the single bit addressed by each hash value from the hash table; and determining if the bit addressed is equal to the initialized state for each of the at least two hash functions.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of modifying further comprises: setting the single bit addressed of each hash value equal to the altered state if the bit addressed was not equal to the altered state.
 19. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: extracting one or more components from the check accounting data for each individual check; and creating a string of characters based on the one or more extracted components, wherein the function computes the value based on the string.
 20. A system for detecting duplicate check images, comprising: at least one processor; a receipt module configured to receive check data wherein the check data comprises at least check accounting data associated with the one or more checks; a function module configured to determine if the check data is unique by applying a function to the check data wherein the function computes a value based on the check data, wherein the function module selects an element from a set where an index of the element corresponds to the computed value, determines that a check is not a duplicate if the element is in an initialized state, and further determines that the check is a suspected duplicate if the element is in an altered state, and modifies the element for processing of further checks by altering a state of the element; an output module configured to output, based on results from the function module, a listing of suspected duplicate checks; and a storage module connected to the system and configured to store data associated with the system.
 21. The system of claim 20, further comprising: an accounting data extraction module configured to extract one or more components from the check accounting data for each individual check.
 22. The system of claim 20, further comprising: a character string creation module configured to create a string based on the one or more components, wherein the function module computes the value based on the string.
 23. The system of claim 20, further comprising: a user interface module configured to allow a user to interact with the system.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the user interface module allows a user to review the listing of suspected duplicate checks.
 25. The system of claim 20, wherein the image of the one or more checks is in a image format wherein the check accounting data can be extracted therefrom.
 26. The system of claim 20, wherein the check accounting data comprises MICR data.
 27. The system of claim 20, wherein the user queues one or more of the suspected duplicate checks for fraud analysis.
 28. The system of claim 20, wherein function module compares present check data against check data from a predetermined time period and check data from a time period prior to the predetermined time period.
 29. The system of claim 20, wherein the function module uses a single bit hash table as the function.
 30. The system of claim 20, wherein the function module uses a Bloom filter.
 31. The system of claim 30, wherein the Bloom filter comprises at least two single bit hash functions.
 32. A computer-implemented method for detecting duplicate check images, the method comprising the steps of: receiving check data wherein the check data comprises at least check accounting data associated with the one or more checks; extracting one or more components from the check accounting data for each individual check; and creating a string of characters based on the one or more extracted components, applying a function to the string wherein the function computes a value based on the string; selecting an element from a set where an index of the element corresponds to the computed value wherein the set is an array and wherein the element of the set is a single bit; determining that a check is not a duplicate if the element is in an initialized state; determining that the check is a suspected duplicate if the element is in an altered state wherein the determination of the suspected duplicate is carried out against check data comprising a predetermined time period; modifying the element for processing of further checks by altering a state of the element; reviewing the suspected duplicate to determine if it is a true duplicate wherein the step of reviewing is performed by an operator; and queuing the true duplicate for fraud analysis. 